2019 came to a close a few weeks ago, but the Epic Games Store's weekly giveaway did not. In fact, 2019 ended with a flurry of activity, and 2020 opened with three in a row. Today, Epic finally made it official: the free weekly games will continue in 2020.

"A new decade means new games, and 2020 is off to a great start with a number of great titles coming exclusively to the Epic Games Store. To kick things off, we're extending our weekly free games program through 2020. Come back every week to pick up your games. Once you claim your games, they are yours forever.

I find it interesting that Epic is focusing on EGS exclusive titles for 2020. The backlash against store exclusive releases doesn't seem to be as intense as it was a year ago, but people still like Steam and there is a deep-seated feeling of understatement that EGS is going to dry up and blow away. This is a pretty clear statement that, backlash or not, Epic has no intention of changing course.

Epic also throws around the numbers shown below: Epic states that this is "actual spending by customers" and does not include "the value of coupons, funding by Epic to developers," etc. While there may be some negativity about this store, people are clearly spending money on it.

And even if they have managed to avoid putting money into it so far, it is difficult not to touch the free games. Speaking of which, there's also the hand-painted Metroidvania Sundered: Eldritch Edition, which is only available until January 16 at 11:00 am ET. Other Epic Game Store exclusives include Magic: The Gathering Arena, Predator: Hunting Grounds, Auto Chess, Rogue Company, and Godfall.